calling from some city...

Scott’s alarm went off at 9 am this morning, because we intended to get an early start to the day. He said “time to get up” to me and Sara, but none of us made a move out of bed. This has become a trend for us during this trip. Luckily, we haven’t missed a train, bus, or plane yet (though we did come close leaving Sorrento) so I guess it’s not a big deal if we sleep in; this is our vacation. We all dozed back to sleep and got up at 10 am instead. I had to use the restroom, and decided we needed to get started on the day- it was going to be busy one! Scott made us coffee and we were out the door. Today we were hiking the trail that connects the 5 towns of Cinque Terre. This is basically the main reason that people visit Cinque Terre, because the views of the ocean and the towns along the way are supposed to be amazing. Again, these towns were literally built right into cliffs along the ocean, so the views promised to be breathtaking and unbelievable. We were starting the hike in Monterosso, and heading toward Riomaggiore. It’s about 7 miles long, so without breaks it’s about a 4 hour and 30 minute hike. We were going to take time to explore each town on the way, however. I was eager for this hike because I knew it was going to be a challenge for me (I don’t really hike, ever, but figured I was athletic enough to do it) but I was excited for it.

After grabbing a pastry on the way, we entered the trail. We got a 2-day hiking pass so we’ll probably do other hiking tomorrow. The path between the 5 towns is the most popular hike, but there are other hikes to do in the region and to other nearby towns as well. We were starting with the most difficult part of the hike: from Monterosso to Vernazza it’s nearly 2 hours, and very hilly. Immediately, we started climbing very steep stairs. My thighs were burning and I was already becoming winded. We walked uphill on these stairs for about 30 minutes before it started to even out. The rest of the hike more or less alternated uphill and downhill stretches, so it was possible to catch your breath and gives the thighs a rest along the way. And of course, I was stopping every 5 seconds to take a picture- the views from up above were definitely as amazing as promised. Tt was a perfect sunny day out, so the sun was glistening on the water and rocks all day long, which was absolutely beautiful.

A few bits on info about the entire hike from Monterosso to Riomaggiore. First, the trail was not always in great condition, as my guidebook had warned. It was very rocky, and usually the rocks were uneven. The steps were often very steep. For large stretches of the entire hike, there was no guardrails- so you were literally walking with a cliff on the left side, and a huge drop into the forest or ocean on the other side of you. It was a pretty narrow trail too, making it necessary at times to stop to let others pass coming from the opposite directions. But I never felt scared or worried I was going to fall off the trail; rather, the rough terrain added to the difficulty of the hike overall. Finally, while crowded at times, I thought there would be more people hiking than actually were. Of course, it was really hot out so some people might have done it early in the morning, or chose a day on the beach instead.

In addition, hiking the trail provided fascinating people watching opportunities. Some people were clearly serious hikers, with hiking boots, backpacks, and some even had hiking poles. Seemed a little too extreme for this trail, but at least they were not like many of the people I saw wearing flip flops, skirts, and brightly printed shirts. A girl was wearing a lovely dress and wedge sandals; another skinny jeans, high top sneakers, and a punk graphic t-shirt. I could easily imagine one of them stumbling over a rock or step because their lack of appropriate and supportive footwear and get dirt stains all over their brand-new white skirt.

Back to the hike. The view of Vernazza as we approached was spectacular. The town has a really pretty harbor and while it doesn’t really have a beach, there were lots of people sitting at the ocean’s edge as the water crashed into the rocks. The water was actually very rough; I knew Scott wanted to go swimming, but he saw it was too dangerous. We walked around town for a bit, and I even ran into someone who graduated from Dartmouth (I was wearing my Dartmouth athletic shorts) who mentioned another Dartmouth student was walking around as well. Small world. We sat down at the water’s edge for a bit as Scott climbed on the rocks, getting drenched in the process. I explored town a bit, and was creative with my lunch choice. I bought a really big piece of focaccia bread from a bakery, and then went to a deli and got enough mortadella to make a sandwich. The butcher was really nice and cut the bread for me to make the sandwich. It was delicious, really filling, and only cost 2,50 euro all together.

We decided it was time to hit the next part of the trail; Vernazza to Corniglia was supposed to take about 90 minutes. My guidebook stated that the first leg of the hike was the only difficult one, but I found this leg almost as difficult. Again, we started the hike off with a very steep uphill climb for about 40 minutes. I ran out of water, but luckily there was a bar along the trail to get another one. This was the most difficult part of the whole trip for me. The uphill climb seemed never ending, it was hot out, and I felt very sweaty and dirty. Once we started going downhill, the stairs were so rocky and uneven that it was painful on my feet, knees, and back. It finally got better and we began the descent into Corniglia. I was in desperate need to sit down. Luckily we found a water fountain to fill up our water bottles and wash our hands and feet, and rested a bit. Corniglia is really, really tiny, so we didn’t spend much time there. It was my least favorite of the towns and also the least picturesque. It’s also perched up on a hill, so there wasn’t really a beach to relax on. 

On the way onto Manarola, we did make our way down to the water, where people were laying on large rocks. The waves hitting the rocks were huge, though, so after taking some pictures, we hit the trail. The walk to Manarola was significantly easier. After the beginning uphill climb, it’s mostly downhill, but very gradual, with minimal stairs. Thus, it was a pretty flat walk and it was much easier on the knees and feet. It took a little less than an hour, and then Manarola came into view. The houses perched on top of the cliffs were gorgeous. In the harbor, we immediately saw people swimming and jumping off small rocks. Scott of course noticed the pretty large rock that people were climbing up, but not jumping. Of course, he was intrigued.

We all jumped into the water. Sara and I mostly paddled around, enjoying the refreshing ocean. It was pretty rough in the water. The current was strong, and since there were rocks all around us, I was worried about getting swept up in a wave and into a rock. Luckily no injuries occurred. We got out and watched Scott climb to the rock of the rock- about 30 feet in the air. It took him about 15 minutes to make the decision to jump. By this time, everyone in the surrounding area was watching him, seeing if he would actually jump. It looked fairly dangerous to me because of all the rocks nearby, but Scott knew he could jump out far enough. Finally, he jumped- and came up just fine. After that, a ton of people started swimming to the rock to make the jump themselves. After Scott jumped twice more, we dried off and headed to the last stop: Riomaggiore!

The hike to Riomaggiore was only 20 minutes long and really more of a casual walk than a hike. It was pretty much flat the whole way, and very easy after what we’d accomplished earlier in the day. That stretch of the hike it, however, called the Via Dell’Amore so it’s supposed to be really romantic. It was definitely pretty, but really all the views we saw today were spectacular.

 We made it to Riomaggiore at about 6:15! So while parts of the hike were really difficult, it definitely was a fun challenge, not a miserable one. We got dinner at a restaurant in Riomaggiore- I got spaghetti with clams, and it was delicious. Because of my accomplishment today, I treated myself to apple pie as desert. We hopped a train back to Monterosso, and then Scott and I got gelato and walked around town for about 2 hours and caught some live music on the square. It was a long and tiring, but completely wonderful day.